W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2012 The Rise and Fall of the WB: "Dawson's Creek", Intertextuality, and Legitimation Ambert R. J. P. Hodge College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons, and the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Hodge, Ambert R. J. P., "The Rise and Fall of the WB: "Dawson's Creek", Intertextuality, and Legitimation" (2012). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539626676. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-00v5-f567 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Rise and Fall of the WB:Dawson’s Creek, Intertextuality, and Legitimation Amber R. J. P. Hodge Honolulu, Hawaii Bachelor of Arts, The College of William and Mary, 2005 A Thesis presented to the Graduate Faculty of the College of William and Mary in Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Arts American Studies Program The College of William and Mary May 2012 APPROVAL PAGE This Thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Am Approved b W j mmi JArthur Knight, Ph.D. The College of William and Mary Colleen Kennedy, Ph.D. The College of William and Mary ABSTRACT PAGE Americans have always been divided generationally, from the Lost Generation and the Greatest Generation to the Baby Boomers and Generation X. Until September 11, 2001, the Millennial Generation (“Millennials”) was only defined in relation to other demographic cohorts. A review of popular culture from 1998-2003, specifically television programming targeted to and embraced by the Millennials, demonstrates a search for legitimation at a time when this generation existed only in the context of others, with no obvious distinguishing characteristics. This paper will explore popular culture trends as a marker of broader social change in the context of the declining need of the Millennial Generation to define itself through popular culture (and earlier generations) when presented with its own “defining moment.” By comparing trends in youth-oriented programming at the end of the 21st century to shows that premiered following the September 11 terrorist attacks, it becomes clear that popular culture begins to transform from a means of legitimation to a mechanism for escapism. Introduction As the twentieth century drew to a close, advertisers and rapidly expanding media outlets began to take notice of the size and associated buying power of the Millennial Generation (Millennials), the generation of Americans bom between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s.1 As a result, much was made of teen-oriented media in general and The Warner Brothers’ Television Network (“the WB”) in specific. Notable among the programming that gained popularity during this time was Dawson’s Creek, a prime-time hit that self-consciously bridged the discourse between adult and youth themes and sensibilities. By focusing on its enhanced methods of commercialism, most studies chart the development ofDawson’s Creek and its function through the use of advertising, product placement, and cross-over deals. However, by limiting the discussion strictly toDawson’s role in fostering consumerism, multiple, perhaps more pertinent, cultural developments are frequently ignored. This is not as much a function of flaws in contemporary discourse, as it is a result of limited scope. Through reflection on the program as a complete entity, in light of the end of the series and the dissolution of the network on which it aired, various patterns emerge as representative of the show in particular and the social climate of American 1 Stephanie F. Gardner, PharmD, EdD, “Preparing for the Nexters,”American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, August 15, 2006, accessed November 30, 2011, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1636975/7tool-pmcentrez. Neil Howe and William Strauss introduced this term inMillennials Rising: The Next Great Generation (New York: Vintage Books, 2000). However, they defined the Millennial Generation as anyone bom on or before 1982 (Howe and Strauss 2000, 4). 1 society in general. Notable among these themes are the use of intertextuality and nostalgia as means of establishing the legitimacy of popular culture at the turn of the twenty-first century. Charting themes inDawson’s Creek and the program’s success, coupled with the subsequent decline of the WB, demonstrates trends in popular culture that coincide with larger historical trends. Teen-oriented programming sought to establish the legitimacy of youth discourse through mature dialogue, in turn legitimizing the Millennials as an audience. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the group seeking to forge an identity through popular culture now found itself with a great cause, one potentially similar to that faced by the “Greatest Generation” of World War II. As a result, television programming moved sharply away from nostalgia and intertextuality to escapism and “reality,” with an increasing emphasis on micronarratives. Ultimately, this shift in popular culture trends represents a larger historical transition that reflects the creation of a sense of a “place” in history for a new generation. Definitions It is worth noting that theMillennial Generation is also frequently referred to as Generation Y or the Echo Boomers, both of which define the Millennials solely by 2 Immediately following the September 11 attacks, frequent comparisons were made between the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the bombing of Pearl Harbor by echoing Roosevelt’s “A Date Which Will Live in Infamy” speech. William Saflre, “New Day of Infamy,” The New York Times, September 12, 2001, accessed November 30, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/12/opinion/12SAFI .html is one example. 2 relating them to earlier generations of Gen X and the Baby Boomers respectively. Generations are never easily classified, though demographic experts can usually roughly agree on what timespan constitutes a particular generation. The most commonly accepted range of birth years for the Millennials starts around the mid- 1970s (1976-1979) and ends around the mid-1990s (1994-1995).3 Because this research focuses on media trends of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when I refer to Millennials, I am speaking of the first half of the generation (those bom between roughly 1977 and 1986). Limiting the scope serves two purposes. First, it restricts the study to the segment of Millenials targeted byDawson’s Creek and the WB.4 I believe the generation is worth segmenting because the cultural experiences of the first and latter half of the generation were markedly different.5 For example, when early members of -j Ellen Neubome, “Generation Y,”BusinessWeek, Feburary 15, 1999, accessed November 30, 2011, http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_07/b3616001.htm. Nadira A. Hira, “Attracting the twentysomething worker,”Fortune , May 15, 2007, accessed November 30, 2011, http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_ archive/2007/05/28/10003 3934/. 4 The WB’s targeted Millenials and late Generation Xers. In an interview with the New York Times, Jamie Kellner, president of the WB said, “Our focus is 12-to-34- year-olds and that's it.” Lawrie Mifflin, “A Sixth Night for WB, for Under 35's Only,” The New York Times, May 19, 1999, accessed November 30, 2011, http://www. n54imes.com/1999/05/19/arts/a-sixth-night-for-wb-for-under-35-s-only.html. 5 The Millennials consider themselves to be disjointed. Ian Shapira interviewed a panel of Millennials to determine how the Millennial Generation defines itself. None of the interviewees were able to generate a definitive response. Ultimately, Michael Connery, author of the book Youth To Power, noted, “People resist labels more among the millennials because there's more subcultures... It's a fragmented culture in a way that it's never been.” Ian Shapira, “What Comes Next After Generation X?,” The Washington Post, July 6 2008, accessed November 30, 2011, http://www. washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/05/AR2008070501599.html. 3 the Millennial Generation attended high school, smartphones and mp3 players were a rarity, and Facebook did not exist. Many of the early Millennials completed at least some of their high school education prior to the Columbine High School massacre (1999), the worst high school shooting rampage in American history. In contrast, by the time most of the late-stage Millennials entered high school, they had Facebook accounts and, depending on their parents’ income level, mp3 players and smartphones as well. Additionally, they have no experience in middle or high school that has not been shaped (to some degree) by the presence of terrorist violence domestically which resulted from the Columbine massacre and the September 11 attacks.6 For the purpose of my study, legitimation is defined as the effort of an individual (text or person) or group (genre, generation, subset of population, etc.) to establish it or themselves as worthy of critical and historical response. Legitimation, in this case, establishes a program as “quality television,” that is, television that has an impact on mainstream culture and is critically successful, a status generally marked by the American public as reception in the awards circuit.7 My focus in this study is not the achievement of quality but, rather, what that bid for quality 6 Although most researchers mark the end of the Millennial Generation in the mid- 1990s, “Generation Z” (Net/I Generation) is most frequently identified as beginning with those bom 1991, indicating the fluidity of these definitions. 7 Although quality may be defined by the average television viewer as a positive critical reception or success on the awards circuit, television executives typically define quality through success, which is based on the amount of revenue a series generates for a network and studio.